DC
by elliejelliebean
Summary: Bella moves not to Washington, but to Washington D.C. The Cullens are not vampires, but something equally foreign to the average teenager: the President's relatives. Join President Carlisle, the First Family, and Bella Swan as they navigate US Politics.
1. Prologue: Saying Adios

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this story. Not Stephanie Meyer's characters/plotline, not Sidwell Friends School, not the United States government.

Also, a statement about fact/fiction: This story will contain lots of real places, offices, people, etc. There is a bit of a blurry line between fact and fiction. For instance, President Dwight D. Eisenhower existed, and he very well could have had a daughter named Alicia born in 1924, as he actually did have a son in 1922. He did not have a daughter named Alicia, though I tell you that he did and that she, in turn, had a son named Carlisle Cullen, who is currently President of the United States. Carlisle Cullen is not president of the United States. He, however, could be, if he existed and a certain charming Illinios senator did not. Sidwell Friends School does exist, and most first family children go there--the Cullens, however, do not. You get my drift? Things will be as factual as possible--435 Representatives, 100 Senators, etc., but I will mix fact and fiction: the Masens are not a noble English family. ¿Comprendes?

_Prologue: Saying Adios_

_**Personal History**_

_**Early Life**_

_President Carlisle Cullen was born on January 7, 1962 to Jim Cullen and his wife Alicia, the only daughter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. His parents met during World War II when Jim, serving as a military doctor in Germany, was injured in an explosion. For treatment, he was sent back to his native Boston, where he had attended Harvard Medical School before the war. Alicia Eisenhower, while attending Boston University, was volunteering as a nurse in the war hospital where Jim was treated. They married in 1948 and lived in New York City for two years, where Alicia acted in several Broadway musical productions. Upon the birth of son Dwight in 1950, they moved to Thatcher, Connecticut. Son Grover and daughter Mamie were born in 1953 and 1957, respectively, and Carlisle followed in 1962. Jim worked as a doctor in the Jane Jillian Memorial Hospital while Alicia wrote a newspaper column and attended to the children; after Carlisle left the house in 1980, she began teaching third grade at the local elementary school._

_President Cullen has been known to describe his childhood as "practically perfect," joking that the one thing that could have made it more so was if the notable success of siblings Dwight, Grover, and Mamie was slightly muted, as Carlisle frequently felt overshadowed—Dwight is currently the ambassador to Germany, Grover is a successful surgeon, and Mamie has published two mildly popular novels._

**_Marriage and Family_**

_Carlisle met his future wife, Lady Esme Amorth, daughter of Henry Amorth, Duke of Devonshire, while they were both studying at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. They describe being best friends during their freshman year at the university and becoming romantically involved during the summer after their freshman year. After graduating in 1984, Esme moved with Carlisle to New Haven, Connecticut, where he was to study at Yale Law School. There, Esme worked in an advertising firm. The couple was married in 1987, upon Carlisle's graduation from the school a semester early._

_Carlisle received a job in a prestigious law firm in his native Thatcher. Esme worked again in an advertising firm until the birth of son Emmett in 1992, upon which she quit her job and concentrated on raising her children. Daughter Alice was born in 1994, just as Carlisle was busy campaigning for the vacant Connecticut senate seat. He won the election, and the couple moved to Bethesda, Maryland in 1994 to ease Carlisle's commute. They kept their Connecticut home._

_In 1996, tragedy struck the family. Esme's younger sister Lady Elizabeth Masen (née Amorth) and her husband Lord Edward Masen died in a car accident in their native United Kingdom, orphaning their young son Edward Masen, 3. As stipulated in the Masens' will, the Cullens adopted the young boy, raising him as a third child. He currently lives in the White House and is a junior at the Sidwell Friends School with sister Alice, 16, also a junior. Emmett, 18, attends Brown University._

_The Cullen family is notably close to the family of Vice President Malcolm Hale, a former Ohio senator. Malcolm and his wife Beverly are parents to twins Jasper and Rosalie, 18._

Isabella Swan sighed and minimized President Carlisle Cullen's Wikipedia page. She would soon live a meager half-hour away from the man—she figured she ought to get to know him a little better.

Washington, D.C., her future home, was so much different than the sunny paradise that was Phoenix, Arizona. She loved it there. She loved the cacti. She loved the heat. She loved that the barren land was defined more by the shape of it than what covered it—it felt more true and real. She loved her mother.

But she had always been "gifted", at least according to various IQ and standardized tests, and after the most boring sophomore year ever, the Phoenix schooling system had been deemed insufficient to educate her. Her mother Renee, a kindergarten teacher, couldn't afford any Phoenix private schools, and her dad Charlie insisted that if he was paying for the school, Bella ought to live with him.

It wasn't that he was mean-spirited, but he understood how often Renee was gone with Phil, travelling because of his career in baseball. Besides, he was in full-on Dad mode, a result of marrying the 35-year-old Janelle last year and having a baby six months later. He could take care of her better than Renee could. Or at least, that's what he claimed.

So Bella was moving in one week to Washington, D.C., where her father worked in the Department of Homeland Security. She would be attending the prestigious Sidwell Friends School, along with the children of every notable politician in the area—including the President. She thought they were all sure to be snobby, status-obsessed young people who were all too aware of the power of their parents.

She looked around her perfectly disorderly bedroom. The bright desert sun shone through the window, illuminating particles of dust in the air. Clothes covered her floor and bed, and the room was a sort of organized mess. Her laptop sat on her bed playing music.

"Bella, honey," her mother called. "Dinner!"

She could smell chili—Phil must have cooked dinner tonight. She could just barely hear her mother's laugh from downstairs as she turned off her music, closed her laptop, and left her room.

God, she would miss it here.

* * *

Downstairs, Renee and Phil were dancing around the kitchen, the vintage radio that sat on the counter blaring Latin music. Bella smiled and watched them for a second, still taking in the fact that she had only two weeks of this left.

"Ay, mi Bella," Renee said loudly in broken Spanish, trying to talk over the music. She walked over to Bella and put her hand on her cheek. "Bella Bella. No puedo creer que vas a dejarme sola aquí, en este desierto. Te quiero mucho."

Oh, my Bella. Beautiful Bella. I can't believe that you are going to leave me alone here in this desert. I love you so much.

Ever since Bella started taking Spanish the year before when she started high school, her mother had been learning with her through an online course. It was one of her obsessions. Renee wasn't very good, but she liked it. Plus, Phil couldn't understand them when they spoke it, which was always a plus.

Phil turned off the music, and suddenly there was silence.

"I don't have to go, Mom," Bella responded quietly.

"No, Bella. Es necesario que vayas. Estoy siendo egoísta. Te necesito, querida."

No, Bella. It's necessary that you go. I'm being selfish. I need you, dear.

Bella wanted to cry. She couldn't leave her mother. She couldn't leave Phoenix. She didn't have anything against Charlie or Janelle or her little half-sister. She didn't have anything against Washington, D.C. or private school. She just had something against not being here, in this middle-of-nowhere desert city where she had her friends and her house and her mother.

"Shall we eat?" Phil asked loudly, a little oblivious but perfectly loving as always. He and Renee were well-suited for each other.

They ate spicy red chili with cornbread and Aguas Frescas. The burnt red Mexican tile under Bella's feet was cold; she realized, as she felt it, that this tile was rarely used in houses in Washington. Hardwood, carpet, or softer, more neutral stones were more likely alternatives.

After dinner, she stepped outside onto the rough dirt, still without shoes. She dodged cacti and watched out for snakes as she navigated her way to the top of a nearby hill. She sat in the fetal position on the dirt, watching the sun go down.

"You'll write me every day," Renee said suddenly from behind her, startling her. She sat down next to Bella. "Or call. It doesn't matter. I'll drop whatever I'm doing to talk to you, querida. And if you need to come home, I don't care about cost or missing school, you tell me, okay?"

Bella nodded and looked at her mother's skin. It was wrinkly, sort of leathery, and covered in faded freckles, consequences of too much sun and moistureless air. Her brown hair hung in waves around her face. She wore no makeup, but was still very naturally attractive. Janelle was blonde and pale. She didn't have any wrinkles, yet, and her face was always covered in a layer of tasteful makeup, evening her skin tone and drawing attention to her pretty grey eyes.

Bella rested her head on her mother's shoulder and they watched the brilliantly-colored sky fade to navy. They sat until the desert air, easily manipulated because of its lack of moisture, became too cold to sit comfortably with summer clothing. They went inside, where Phil was watching the news.

"President Cullen arrived in Iowa today to attend a Town Hall Meeting about his education initiative, with First Lady Esme Cullen and children Alice, Edward, and Emmett accompanying him. In a daring move, the president announced that his children would be answering questions at the meeting scheduled for tomorrow night. Said the President, 'I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm old and I don't remember a whole lot about my school days. Moreover, it's simply a completely different game these days. I need some student perspectives, and Emmett, Edward, and Ally here were already going along for the ride.' The President has received criticism for presenting his children as examples of the typical American student because they attend private rather than public schools…"

A picture of the white house lit up the screen. The camera zoomed out onto the entire city, spanning the memorials and congress and the great library.

Home sweet home, she thought, trying not to be bitter.

* * *

"You're so lucky!" Bella's friend Rory exclaimed, sitting on top of my kitchen counter with a bag of Cheeseburger-flavored Doritos, her favorite. "I mean, we'll miss you, chica, but shit! Going to school with Edward freaking Cullen? Not that Emmett isn't super sexy—he totally is—but People says he's at college now. Besides, Edward is hotter."

Bella rolled her eyes at Rory from the fridge, where she was grabbing Cokes for Rory and their other best friend, Carlos. "Actually, Edward isn't even a Cull—"

"Stop downplaying it, girl. You're lucky as hell and you know it," Rory objected.

"Yeah, Bells, I'm celoso," said Carlos, taking a bite of one of Rory's chips and grimacing. "Alice está buena!"

Bella laughed. "Yeah, because you know how into girls I am, Carlos," she said sarcastically. "But come on, let's be real. What interest is the first family going to have in me? Absolutely none, that's how much." Bella closed the fridge and sat on the counter next to them. "I'm just going to be the freaky new girl with no friends. I'm the furthest thing from lucky—I'm moving away! I'm not going to have you, school, my family, anything…" She trailed off.

Rory put her arm around Bella's shoulder, her dirty blonde hair falling into Bella's face. "We'll miss you, chica, that's for sure," she said quietly. "This year won't be the same."

* * *

The day had arrived. Bella's stuff had all been shipped—all that was left was an enormous suitcase with all the stuff that she would need until all of the boxes were unpacked.

Her flight left at 3:42 in the afternoon. She got there at 3:00 in the hurry of all hurries—Renee had spent way too long on pictures, only to forget where she had put her keys. Phil was at work; Bella had said goodbye to him the night before.

She arrived at the gate, breathing hard, at 3:27, only to learn that the flight had been delayed for two hours because Air Force One was landing at Sky Harbor International. She wondered if the president's family was here and got jitters in her stomach—only to remember that she would no doubt have classes with them once she got to school. Getting worked up about their presence in the same enormous building was ridiculous.

As she waited, she had that horrible feeling of anticipation in her stomach that makes it almost physically hurt, and it was complimented by intense boredom and dread at the prospect of saying goodbye to her mother. It was not a pleasant two hours.

Finally, they announced that Flight 401 to Washington, D.C. was boarding. Bella's heart pounded in her chest. Her mother was flustered, frantically gathering all of their stuff from their small camp among the rows of uncomfortable plastic chairs. She could tell that her mother was trying to hold back tears.

"Say hello to your father and Janelle for me, and try to like it there, sweetie, and don't get into trouble. Who am I kidding? Of course you won't get into trouble. You should be telling me…Oh dear. I'm rambling. I should just…I'm just going to miss you, baby. So much. I love you. I adore you. Oh, my baby. Querida…Te quiero, niñita."

"Oh mom," Bella said, tears running down her face. Renee pulled her into a hug. "I'll miss you. I love you so much."

"You should go," Renee said, wiping her eyes furiously.

"Yeah, I should," Bella whispered, walking away from her mother. She was crying in earnest by the time she handed her ticket to the lady at the door.

As Bella entered the portable hallway and turned the corner, her mother out of sight, she heard Renee yell, one more time: "I love you so much, Bella!"

Bella couldn't believe she was doing this. Seriously. What the hell was she thinking?


	2. Ch 1: Meet the Parents

_Chapter 1: Meet the Parents_

The first thing that Bella Swan noted when she stepped off of the plane was that the air was different. In Phoenix, even inside the hyper-controlled, air-conditioned airport terminals, she could feel the dryness of the air. Here, the air was more humid. Somehow, it felt _dirtier_ to her—she don't know why. The air in Phoenix just felt so clean and crisp; she felt bogged down by the extra 50% humidity.

With the other passengers, she was herded out of the gates towards baggage claim. And she saw them.

Charlie was standing there holding her baby sister, Janelle's hand on his shoulder as she stood on her toes to locate Bella. They looked…perfect.

Charlie had shaved his beard since Bella had last seen him, and it looked like Janelle had bought him new shampoo—his normally frizzy curly hair was controlled, now. He also had on new clothes, the dirty fleeces and too-small light wash jeans a thing of the past, and he looked a bit trimmer. Janelle was blonde and perfect, her previously long golden-blonde hair styled in a short Mom-cut that framed her face nicely and made her look older, in a good way. She gazed upon Bella's sister Adalie as if she was the most precious thing in the entire universe, and when she located Bella amongst the crowd, Janelle looked at her with equally-loving eyes.

"Bella!" she yelled exuberantly, rushing over to give Bella a tight hug. Bella was a little shocked; she had met her at Charlie's wedding nine months ago, but before that Bella had hardly known she existed. And although they got along very well at the wedding, it wasn't like they bonded a whole lot—Janelle had other things going on, obviously.

"Hey, Janelle," Bella said warmly back to her. She had been worried about a very awkward arrival; Janelle had lessened it by being so open and loving. For that Bella was grateful.

"Hey, Bells," Charlie said, smiling at his daughter openly. He hugged Bella awkwardly, three-month-old Adalie in between them.

Bella looked down at her. She had never seen her before—this was the first time.

And she was in love. Adalie was the most precious thing in the entire world, with bright blue eyes and tiny, white-blonde hairs protruding from her scalp. She smiled when she looked at Bella.

"Isn't she precious?" Janelle asked. "Look at that smile. You started smiling early, didn't you, Adalie?" she cooed. "Oh yes you did!"

Bella tore her eyes away from the pair to look at Charlie, who was looking down at them with a soft smile on his face.

Maybe D.C. wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

The ride to the house was another thing that Bella was dreading. Charlie wasn't at all a talker, and while Bella had mastered the art of responding to things that other people said, she wasn't a good initiator.

They were saved from awkwardness again by Janelle, who questioned Bella kindly, openly.

"Missing Phoenix yet?" she asked with a smile.

"I'm not quite sure," Bella answered. "Saying goodbye to my Mom was tough. Really tough…yeah, I already miss her. And I miss the dryness of the air—it's so humid here."

"I know what you mean. I almost died when I came here from New York, and Phoenix is quite a bit drier."

"Yeah, definitely." There was a pause as the conversation lagged. "I don't know. I miss my friends, I guess."

"Ooh, your friends! Tell me about them!"

"Well, my best friends were Rory and Greg. They're smart, I guess, and fun to hang out with. They're cool."

"Well I'm sure you'll make new ones in no time. You know, I was just telling Charlie how I switched high schools after my freshman year…"

_Logical fallacy!_ Mrs. Collins, Bella's old English teacher, would have interjected. It was what she would call a false analogy—Janelle and Bella were not comparable people when it came to anything social.

Making friends had never been particularly easy for Bella, but that was always okay because she didn't really need them to function. She had her mom and lots of books, and she was friendly with most of the school—friendly enough to eat a pleasant lunch with almost any of them. She didn't really feel the need to see her classmates outside of school. In fact, the thought of it always made her feel kind of tired—even just going out to the movies with Rory and Carlos wasn't nearly as good as eating dinner with her mom and Phil, watching the news, and falling asleep with a Jane Austen novel.

Janelle must have been the complete opposite. As she rambled about switching schools, Bella imagined her in high school. Blonde, beautiful, nice, outgoing, smart, perfect… Ten bucks says she was a cheerleader.

"And then I got elected cheer captain, so…"

* * *

Bella had never been to Charlie and Janelle's home before, and she wasn't exactly sure what to expect. She knew that Charlie could care less about interior design or organization or cleanliness, but she pegged Janelle as a person that valued a nice home.

She was extremely correct.

The new house was just outside of the city, located in a gorgeous neighborhood of high-priced renovated colonials. It was a picture-perfect New England street, with mature trees that provided shade and cast the neighborhood in a sort of greenish hue.

They pulled up—in a silver Lexus SUV—into the driveway of a beautiful brick colonial with black shutters and white trim.

"We're home!" said Janelle with a smile as Charlie stopped the car on the driveway.

Janelle took to getting Adalie out of her car seat while Charlie got Bella's enormous suitcase from the trunk.

Charlie led Bella to the house, opening the front door without flourish.

"Well," he said, almost self-consciously. "This is it!"

It was beautiful. The foyer was open and bright, and led into a pleasant, high-ceilinged living room on the left and small cozy dining room on the right.

Janelle was still occupied with Adalie, so Charlie led the tour. Down the hall was the kitchen, which was enormous and sported all of sorts of high-tech appliances, expensive-looking white cabinets, and black granite countertops. Attached was a breakfast nook, which was an octagonal room, the walls covered in windows that looked over the large backyard. The family room was painted soft golden brown, and the lighting in there was gold and warm. An enormous T.V. was the centerpiece of a wooden entertainment center that covered the far wall. There was an office with walls covered in books.

Upstairs, there was a recreation room which looked to house random furniture and work out equipment, a guest room, a nursery, Charlie and Janelle's room, and Bella's room. Everything was perfect: the nursery had a color scheme of lavender and soft yellow, whereas Charlie and Janelle's room had a color scheme of gold and red.

My room was enormous. A bed so large it would have taken up my entire room at home fit comfortably, with lots of room to spare. The walls were painted an incredibly light pink, and all furniture was white. There was a walk-in-closet and an attached bathroom. There was a wall of windows with a set of French doors that went onto a porch. There was an enormous desk with bookshelves and a study area and—¡_ay dios mío_!—a brand new laptop on the desk, set up with a printer and everything.

Where the hell did Charlie get all of this money?

Bella knew that he had a high-paying job dealing with some security division of the government, even more high-paying since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2003. And she knew that he, an only child, had inherited quite a bit of money when his upper-middle-class parents died. But this was ridiculous! The house alone, being in a high-priced D.C. neighborhood, must have cost at least one million dollars, if not _two_…Plus the car, and decorating it, and _laptops_, and over $30,000 a year for her school tuition…

Although Charlie was kind of old, she reasoned, and he basically spent no money at all for the past fifteen years of his existence while working jobs that paid about $150,000 a year. Couple this with his inheritance and ten years of Janelle's savings, and she thought she could see how it would work, but still…they were living in luxury over here in D.C. The last time Bella visited Charlie, she slept on the couch in his one-bedroom apartment and they ate cheap Chinese food. She had no idea he was so _loaded_. She had never really given it much thought.

Janelle appeared in the doorway of my new bedroom, baby-free.

"Do you like it? I've been so worried. I know it's a little girly for your tastes—I guess I just saw things that worked and got carried away, and…"

"I love it, Janelle. Really," Bella said, giving her stepmother a hug. She really did. It was more feminine than she was used to, but she thought that it was pleasant, and it wasn't like there would be a lot of people hanging out in my room. The look on Janelle's face was so heartwarming. She really was a very kind woman. Bella knew that she was lucky that her father had picked a woman like her…or really, that a woman like _her_ would pick a guy like _him_…

Charlie's a reasonably attractive man, and he has money and is respectable and all, but he's kind of shy and awkward, and…she didn't know. She just didn't quite see how they would work together.

Bella would have to ask Janelle about it someday. She surprised herself to find that she was actually looking forward to the talk, and others like it.

* * *

Dinner was pleasant and uneventful. They ate in the breakfast nook – the dining room was only used on special occasions here – and ate chicken with rice and green beans. Adalie, still just an infant, was already asleep, and Janelle told horror stories of the past three months of raising a newborn. She sure didn't look as tired as she claimed to be—Bella figured it was her skills with makeup application.

Bella planned to see the essential D.C. sights with Charlie and Janelle tomorrow and then go shopping with Janelle the next day for back-to-school clothes that would be more appropriate for the weather in D.C.

Charlie talked little, but Bella heard him tell a funny story.

She saw that he was a little more open, a little more secure in himself, since his marriage to Janelle. And he adored Adalie in that quiet, adorable way that he had always adored Bella.

After dinner, Charlie watched sports while Janelle read chick lit on the coach next to him, her feet in his lap. Bella came downstairs with my book and sat in a chair next to them. When they noticed her presence, they both looked at her with smiles, obviously happy to see her downstairs again.

She could see herself as a member of this family.

* * *

Bella stood in front of the mirror later that night, studying her reflection as she brushed her teeth. Her face was very regular—symmetrical, with blemish-free skin and no outstanding features. Her eyes were brown.

They were also, at the moment, wet. Try as she might to hold them in, tears were leaking down onto her cheeks.

Bella really, really liked it in D.C. She liked Janelle, and she liked Charlie, and she liked the house. It wasn't her beloved home in Phoenix, with Salsa music always coming from the antique radio on the counter, echoing off the cold tile through the archways to the outdoors, where she could sit for hours on the uncomfortable dirt under the uncomfortably hot sun and read. But it was nice. And no, she couldn't crawl into bed with her mother when Phil was gone and talk to her for an hour before falling asleep, but she could sit on the sofa and read while Charlie watched TV. Bella really did like how things were going here.

But she _loved_ Phoenix. She _loved_ her house, and she _loved_ her environment, and she _loved_ her mother.

And sure, the quality of education was ten thousand times better, here. And yes, She wanted so badly for my mother to be able to travel with Phil and be happy.

But she liked a life that she had loved yesterday, and that was a bigger sacrifice that she had ever suspected it would be.

* * *

Two weeks is a very poor form of measurement. It changes—sometimes it's an eon, other times but a second.

When Bella was told that she would be arriving in D.C. two weeks before school started, she was thinking two weeks as in the two weeks that she spent with her Grandma Marie when Marie was 88. _That_ two week period would have been long enough for Bella to get ready for school, sit bored in her room for days, and hike around the world twice.

The two weeks that she got unfortunately passed faster than she could ever have imagined, until she was lying awake at 1:00 in the morning the night before school started, unable to fall asleep. She would have to get up at 6:30 to be at school by 8:00.

"Come on, Bella," she whispered quietly. "You _have_ to sleep. The last thing you need is to be overtired on your first day at this insipid school."

She took deep breaths. She counted all the way up to 2,348. She tried lying on the floor, her bed suddenly too comfortable for her liking.

At about 3:00, lying in her bed again, she somehow slipped into a shaky sleep.

* * *

"_Hello, Bella. I'll be teaching your English class this year," President Cullen said from his position at the front of the room. Bella sat in a desk at the back. _

"_But why? I mean, aren't you a little busy, Mr. President?" she asked._

"_Oh yes, I'm quite busy. But I figure a little teaching job on the side can't hurt. Besides, my Alice and my Edward are here, and I'll want to keep an eye on them, you know." _

_Just then, Alice Cullen and Edward Masen walked into the classroom, looking stunningly beautiful. Edward walked closer and closer to me. He was so attractive. Really, she hadn't completely appreciated before…beautiful bronze hair, stunning green eyes…he was leaning in…oh God, was he going to…?_

_President Cullen started yelling from the front of the classroom, "See?!? This is why I need to teach here! To think! My son associating with worthless Western girls like you…It's disgusting! You're pathetic! Little Arizona girl, think you're so smart, but you can't compare to anyone here!" _

_The President of the United States charged at me, a full-on, animalistic attack. He snarled and growled before sinking his razor-sharp teeth into my neck._

I jolted awake to Janelle standing at the door, a tray filled with what must have been my breakfast in her hands and a wide smile on her face.

* * *

_A/N: This story is and will remain All Human. The dream was simply a way to illustrate Bella's anxiety about starting school and a little tribute to the original series. Thanks for reading and review if you'd like to make an author smile, or tell her how to improve! _


	3. Ch 2: A Future in Politics

So dear readers, this story wasn't working out for me. The political world really intrigues me, and writing from first person Bella's point of view wasn't working out because we didn't get to really get inside the White House. So, this weekend, DC and I had a heart to heart, and we worked out a compromise. The story is now written in third person all the way through, and the first two chapters have been heavily edited; go back and reread if you like. And while the story won't be updated regularly from this point on, it will, hopefully, be updated more frequently. Enjoy the new and (hopefully) improved DC!!!

_Chapter 2: A Future in Politics_

Edward Masen loved Air Force One. There were a lot of really annoying things about being the son of the President, but the air transportation certainly was not one of them. As Alice's head fell onto Edward's shoulder and an also-sleeping Emmett's iPod headphones blared from the seat across from them, Edward looked out the window at the sun setting over the cornfields of Iowa.

The tendency to look out the window over the country while flying over it was a habit that Edward had picked up from his father. He saw the enormous significance the gesture had for Carlisle—as President Cullen looked over the land, he fully understood the enormity of his role as its leader.

For Edward, looking over the country, he felt less responsibility towards it and more of a love for it. He was very much a part of the British nobility, to be sure—his official title was _Lord Edward Anthony Masen IV, Duke of Kent_. But he had grown up in the States, seeing the beautiful diversity of the different regions and being surrounded by the country's policy makers, and he knew, as much as a connection as he felt to his British homeland, that he had been wooed by the fifty United States.

He had also been wooed by his very American family, and he loved them more than he loved anyone or anything in the world. Carlisle was everything strong and powerful and loving and kind and caring and perfect, and he was generally beloved by his people—one couldn't help but have respect for the man. Esme was all of that, with a little less power and a little more motherliness.

Emmett was incredibly lovable. He didn't have a single rotten bone in his body. He was selfless and muscular and hilarious and wonderful. Alice was energetic and positive and loving and generous to a fault.

They had accepted him as a part of their family. They truly had. And he loved them just as they loved him. But Edward couldn't help but feel _separate_—however integrated he was into their lives, however much they loved him, however large the hole in the family would be if he were to ever leave, Edward was always very conscious that he shared none of Carlisle Cullen's DNA.

And as the son of the president, it was difficult to find any real friends—his family status repelled friends and attracted strangers. Anyone who got over the intimidation enough to approach him, it seemed, did so for the wrong reasons. Edward was extremely popular—he was athletic and charismatic and had been elected Student Body President as a junior, a rare occurrence. His girlfriend of two years, Tanya Giordano, was a fellow Sidwell Friends Junior and the achingly beautiful daughter of Aro Giordano, head of the Democratic Party.

But it was in moments like this, when Emmett wasn't distracting him with jokes, Alice wasn't diverting him with her crazy, hypo-energetic antics, Esme wasn't fixing his always-disorderly hair, and Carlisle wasn't calming him with one of his reassuring smiles and slight nods of the head, that Edward felt very alone indeed.

* * *

Normally, Edward didn't mind the semi-frequent White House receptions he was required to attend. Typically, the people were interesting, and the food was always good, and Alice and Emmett were always there.

But today, he had a splitting headache, and something was going on in the family. He didn't know what, but Esme, usually the very definition of grace at these things, was acting jumpy, and her forehead was wrinkled in concern. Carlisle, aware that he was under constant scrutiny, was less obvious, but Edward heard him lose his train of thought twice while talking to the president of Indonesia. The Hales were here, too. Malcolm was distracted and somber, and Beverly had obviously been crying. Most concerning was that Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie had all disappeared. They had been gone for over an hour now, and Alice had tears running down her face the last time Edward saw her.

He scanned the crowd. The grand ballroom was filled, just enough to be crowded and not enough to be uncomfortable, with men in sharp suits and women who had on their body about a fourth of the income of the average American.

Finally free of a long-winded British government official, Edward was about to go off in search of them when he heard someone call his name.

"Edward Cullen!" the man exclaimed jovially. Edward turned. It was Aro Giordano, the handsome young Head of the Democratic Party, former CEO of a food processing company, and father to Tanya Giorano, Edward's girlfriend of two years. Aro Giordano had a reputation for being honorable about 85-90% of the time.

"Hello, Mr. Giordano," Edward said cordially. "And, if you'll recall, I'm a Cullen in everything but name. My surname is Masen."

"First of all, dear boy, I don't know how many times I have to ask you to call me Aro. Secondly, I meant to talk to you, actually, about that name of yours. Could we step outside?"

"Sure," he responded, very curious but a little reluctant—he really needed to go and find out what was going on with the family. Aro led the way out onto a patio that Edward had been on maybe twice before, even though it was a part of his own big, white house.

"Now Edward, I have been meaning for a while to talk to you about your future. I understand that you, as is my daughter, are entering your junior year in high school?"

He shook his head in confirmation.

"I also understand that you have flawless grades, are the Student Body President, captain of the soccer team…? I confess that your father let it slip that you already took your SAT's and did remarkably well. And I know that you've been present at the Capitol Building since you were thirteen and your father was still merely a senator. I saw the work you did for his campaign. Extremely impressive."

Edward was silent. He was puzzled. What in the world did this man want with a high schooler? "This is all quite extraordinary, dear boy. Very impressive. Very impressive indeed. And I am correct in my assumption that you were born in these fifty states?"

It dawned on him what Aro was leading up to. Was he serious? "Yes. My parents were British, but they were here visiting my adopted parents when I was born."

"Extraordinary the way things work out, is it not?"

"I'm not sure if I would say that, sir. They died not three years later."

"Oh yes. Edward, I am aware of that, and I am indeed terribly sorry…" They were silent for a while. "Edward, I am going to be frank with you. I see great promise in you as a future member of the Democratic Party. You are an extraordinary boy, and you come from a highly powerful and practically unblemished political family. You're on our side of the aisle, I hope?"

"Yes, sir."

"And are you interested in a career in American politics?"

Edward honestly did not know the answer to that. He knew that he would be a gifted politician. He had rather unusual intelligence—he continually tested in the top 99.5% of the population—and was very good at reading people. He had seen in his father an example of the good a politician could do for his country, the change he could enact on a daily basis.

On the other hand, he had also seen in his father the toll that the ugliness of the political world could take on a person. Politicians had to deal with so much bullshit on a day-to-day basis, not to mention the extraordinary annoyance of campaign and public image.

Edward would have loved politics if they weren't so damn political.

"I couldn't tell you, sir. I'm undecided."

Aro smiled. Edward felt a little uneasy.

"Well, dear boy, you sure have my vote. And let me give you some advice—stay involved. Treasure the advantage that your father's position gives you and be very present in Washington. Go to Harvard, Princeton, or Yale for your undergraduate; pick Harvard or Yale for law school. And, as a gesture of how much you appreciate the President and First Lady raising you, change your last name to Cullen before you leave for university. That name will get you far, young man."

He turned to go.

"Edward, I don't do this often and I don't do this lightly. Do what I say, keep your pretty face, and you'll be the President before you turn 45. Now, you have an ally in me. _Use it_."

With that, Aro turned and walked back to the party, leaving a stunned Edward behind on the patio. Just as he left, an upset Alice came rushing out.

"Edward!" she exclaimed, running over to him and giving her a hug. Edward was distressed. It was rare to see Alice looking anything less than chipper.

"Alice, what the hell is going on tonight? Everybody is acting so strange!"

Alice said quietly in his ear, reluctantly: "Rosalie is pregnant."

Edward's heart skipped a beat. So much for his "practically unblemished political family."

The election was next November. Rose would be due in June. The press was going to have a freaking field day.

* * *

One of the requirements of being a Cullen was that you had to love the Hales. In general, this was easy: Malcolm was quiet but very intelligent, and carried an aura of accepting, gentle superiority. Beverly was stricter and not as much fun as Esme, but she was a very pleasant person that truly loved all of them dearly. Jasper was, tied with Emmett and Alice, Edward's best friend. Sometimes, when Edward was feeling particularly angsty, he would go hang out with Jasper and everything would be okay.

Rosalie, however, was difficult to love. She was…tenacious, and very vocal about her disgust with the political scene. She resented being caught up in it all—while she enjoyed the spotlight, she absolutely despised the constant scrutiny that came with being the Vice President's daughter, and took every opportunity to show it, flipping off the press, purposefully disobeying rules, etc. She resented that her father always chose politics over his family.

In fact, Rosalie resented a _lot_ of things, and frankly, Edward considered her a bit of a selfish brat. It seemed to him that she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and all she could do was complain that the food on it tasted badly. There were good things about Rosalie—really, there were, and Edward could love her when he tried really hard. He knew that, if it came down to it, that feeling would win out over his perpetual annoyance with her.

Out of all of the Cullens and perhaps all the world, the task of loving Rosalie came most easily to Emmett.

They had been dating since they were both sixteen years old, and they might as well have been even before that. Seeing Emmett love Rosalie taught Edward how to love Rosalie. He made it seem easy. She was unbelievably beautiful, yes, but he saw in her sincere care for those important to her, a strong mind that would stand up in the face of adversity for people she loved or for her closely-held ideals and morals. She would surprise you, once you got past the beautiful but rough exterior, with her soft interior.

But she would be putting Carlisle and Malcolm and their families through so much in the coming months. William Black, the highly conservative House Majority leader from Arizona and presumptive GOP nominee, was already campaigning on a morally-clean, highly-religious platform. President Cullen was in the midst of changing a previous President's policy towards abstinence-only sex education. The blow to both Carlisle and Malcolm's approval ratings and subsequent careers would be strong, and Rosalie would certainly not cooperate in minimizing it. Damn Rosalie. Edward might need to start taking some lessons from Emmett on how to love that damn woman.

* * *

Edward could not for the life of him get to sleep. School was starting the next day. He needed to be _rested_.

He counted: 1004, 1005, 1006, 1007…It was almost 3:00 when Edward fell into a shaky sleep…

* * *

"_Let me call to the stage the newly elected…President Cullen!" Edward looked around the backstage area, waiting for his father to find his way on stage. _

"_Edward!" Esme nudged him. "What are you doing? Get out there! Edward!"_

_Edward was President Cullen, not Carlisle. As he peeked out at the enormous crowd, he felt a rush of pride and opportunity and excitement…God, he loved this feeling…_

"_Edward!" Esme urged. "Edward!!!!"_

Edward awoke to Esme shaking him awake.

"Edward!!!!"

"Morning sleepyhead," she laughed. "You were _out_. Now come downstairs—Darla's made a delicious breakfast. You only have an hour before you should be leaving for school."

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! I'll try my very hardest to update within the week. :) Thanks, Ellie


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